The top 10 surprises of 2017 (so far)

The 2017 season is not even three months old but it’s already produced more happy surprises than we’d have dared to imagine. Here is our rundown of the Top 10 surprises in 2017 (so far)…

1. Roger Federer

Coming off a first extended injury absence in a near 20-year career, many fans were happy to simply Roger Federer back on tour. A return to Grand Slam heights was unthinkable – even to the Swiss himself. Entering AO2017 at his lowest ranking in 16 years, Federer targeted a quarterfinal at best. Instead, he surged all the way to his first major in almost five years, capping off a magical fortnight with a rare win over Rafael Nadal. A loss to qualifier Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai’s second round only highlighted the fairytale nature of Federer’s happiest title run yet.

2. Venus Williams

As with Federer, it was enough that Venus Williams could still compete. At age 36, she’s the most senior woman in the WTA’s top 100 and maintaining top form is complicated by the Sjogren’s Syndrome she’s battled for years. Entering the Australian Open, an arm injury that forced her out of Auckland added anxiety … and then, all of those factors faded away as Venus charged to her first major final in eight years. Hopes of competing until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when Venus will be 40, no longer seem far-fetched.

3. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Unexpected results don’t come with more feel good factor than Mirjana Lucic-Baroni created at AO2017. Major semifinals seemed consigned to the past after personal, injury and form challenges followed her Wimbledon final-four run in 1999. But some 18 years later, the Croat dug deep to upset world No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.5 Karolina Pliskova to reach that stage of a Slam again. Achieving a career-high top 29 ranking at age 33 in the process, Lucic-Baroni is an inspiration to anyone who’s ever questioned the value of simply hanging in.

4. Sam Querrey

Extra gold star to anyone who saw this coming; since upsetting world No.1 Novak Djokovic at 2016 Wimbledon, the American went 0-7 against top-20 opponents. But in Acapulco, the No.40 stunned four of them – including Rafael Nadal in the final – to become the first American champion in the event’s 24 years. Serving superbly and withstanding all pressure, it was hard to know whether Querrey had under-achieved at other events or over-achieved at this one – either way, we won’t be so surprised next time around.

5. Elina Svitlona

A French Open quarterfinalist at age 19 in 2015, Elina Svitolina is clearly armed with oodles of talent. Still, it’s unlikely many people expected the gains she’d make so early in 2017; collecting her fifth career title in Chinese Taipei before a pair of wins in Fed Cup, the 22-year-old made it 12 straight matches with another title in Dubai. Now the first Ukrainian woman to sit inside the world’s top 10, Svitolina is also perfectly positioned for bigger things.

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6. Mischa Zverev

For a time now there’s been a sense that Mischa Zverev, a decade older than brother Alexander, was a warm-up act to the main show. Injuries had kept Mischa off tour for years, the top-50 ranking he achieved mid-2009 seeming as high as he’d rise. But after qualifying for the US Open in 2016, big things were ahead for the older Zverev. At AO2017, he saved a match point against John Isner in the second round before his stunning fourth round upset of world No.1 Andy Murray. At a personal best ranking of world No.30, Mischa might even be within reach of the top-20 heights his brother has achieved.

7. CoCo Vandeweghe

Don’t feel bad if you were surprised by CoCo Vandeweghe’s AO semifinal breakthrough- the American surprised herself too. In her previous five tournaments – all of them on a hard court – the big-serving 25-year-old had advanced beyond a first round only once. Now, with her goal of reaching a Grand Slam quarterfinal in 2017 smashed in practically her first event, we can’t wait to see what CoCo does next.

8. Denis Istomin

Few players have showcased hard work and persistence as well as Denis Istomin, whose efforts were rewarded with a five-set win over six-time champ Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Surviving another marathon (against Pablo Carreno Busta) to reach the fourth round, Istomin now faces the challenge to produce more big wins – a task that’s far easier from his top 70 ranking than from his pre-Australian Open position of No.116.

9. Ash Barty

At this time last year, many observers were talking more about Ash Barty’s cricket career than they were about her tennis. But while that proved short-lived – she played a season for Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash league – the 20-year-old is now sitting inside the WTA’s top 100 after qualifying for Kuala Lumpur and progressing all the way to her first title. It followed a third round run at AO2017, when Barty stunned two higher-ranked opponents for a career-best run. “I think it’s been a success for us, the start [of 2017 is) more successful than we thought,” Barty admits.

10. Kristina Mladenovic

At world No.2 and with 16 titles – including the 2017 French Open on her record – Kristina Mladenovic was becoming something of a doubles specialist. But not quite at the expense of her singles career. Defeating the No.4 seed Venus Williams and the No.6 Roberta Vinci as she progressed to a first-ever WTA title in St.Petersburg, Mladenovic soon became runner-up in Acapulco too. Already advancing nearly 20 places for a career-best world No.26 this season, you sense the best is still to come.